FRANCE
Also known as La Fete Nationale, Bastille Day is the celebration of the 1790 uprising, Fete de la Federation. Do all things French on Saturday, from eating French foods (National French Fry Day was yesterday!) to partying like the French do! Here are some places in NYC that are throwing down for the other red, white and blue.
Sky Room: The swanky rooftop bar is offering up specials in honor of the holiday. Patrons can reap the benefits of 50% off bottles of PJ Grand Brut champagne from 5-10pm (mention code word: revolution), along with a complimentary plate of fresh seasonal berries. Ricard cocktails will also be available for a cheap $5 and anyone sporting a French ID will get into the party 'fo free!
Long before our eyes and palates turned away from our ethnocentric ideals and began to embrace the cultures and cuisines of Asia, Africa, Latin America, and elsewhere, it was all about Europe. France has had the stronghold on cuisine for over a century, being one of the first to formally establish a school of thought on the matter, as well as rules, formal techniques, and regulations. However, as many food historians would point out, if it were not for the Italian nobility (Catherine de' Medici comes to mind) that brought its dishes and techiques to france, as well as Italian explorers who brought exotic seasonings ands foods to Europe, French cuisine would not be what it is today. Both cuisines are rich, diverse, expansive, and quite different from each other, and the argument over which is better is one that has inflamed the passions of even the most casual eaters.
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian stepped out at the the Wednesday premiere of Cruel Summer, West's art installation/art film in Paris. The couple were reported to be inseparable and stealing kisses every chance they had. The film is one of the first projects of the rappers' Donda creative firm and as we all know Kanye does not shy away from creative projects, he also has clothing designer on his resume.
Kim wore a Balmain dress with a very sexy short hem paired with booties and Kanye kept it simple in a blazer and jeans. The couple were also accompanied by the rappers best friend Jay-Z sans Beyonce.
While we all go around complaining about $15 dollar cocktails, someone in Kentucky is dropping a G on some mint julep. And that's mere chump change compared to the drink that takes the #1 spot. Here are the ten most expensive cocktails in the world.
10. Kentucky Derby Mint Julep, $1,000, Churchill Downs, KY (above)
This $1k cocktail is made of Woodford Reserve Mint Julep, turbinado sugar, Louisville-grown mint, and ice from a 10,000-year-old glacier. But the expense isn't as much in the ingredients as it's in the experience of drinking out of limited-edition Tiffany & Co. silver cup while watching the 2 minute long race in a really large hat, of course.
9. Original Mai Tai, $1270, Merchant Hotel, Belfast, Northern Ireland
This is J. Wray & Nephew Jamaican rum sourced from the real Trader Vic Bergeon "Trader Vic" of the 1940's. Only six bottles from the original harvest remain and the Merchant Hotel owns one of them, so they charge an absurd amount of money to really rich people with cash to spare.
There was no mistaking it. I could hear the strains of jazzy music from way down the block. Not in an invasive driven beat sort of way, more like a subtle, provocative lure. I follow the sounds till about one storefront away; it was then that I could make out the tune: “The groove is in the heart—The groove is in the heart– No, I couldn’t ask for another–Your groove I do deeply dig... No walls only the bridge–my supper dish, my succotash wish.” And then the visuals kick in and jive so perfectly with the music, that rather than walking through the entrance, I boldly climb into the place from the patio and become part of it, where folks were supping and sipping on their first cocktail of the evening. Then I am the restaurant and the restaurant is me, flirting shamelessly–with the music, the diners swaying to it, the endless stream of people passing through. So I grab a cocktail menu offered to me like the membership card to an elite, avant garde club. I order a mojito but not just a standard mortar pestle lime and mint leaf type, but a sassy concoction– a “firefighter” with jalapeno infused maestro dobel tequila, lime juice and a drizzle of pomegranate juice.
French artist OaKoAk has made the daily routine’s drudgery into something fun. Working in creative ways with his or her surroundings, OaKoAk whimsically transforms regular streets into funny and cute pieces of art.
Unlike many street artists, OaKoAk’s method always incorporates an element that is already present in the scene. It’s a twist in viewers’ expectations that perhaps makes this one of the most exciting and pleasant forms of street art. A crack in the wall can be a web-line for Spider-Man. A set of stairs can become a piano! A fire hydrant can be an adorable face.
Ah, Paris! The city of lights and love! What’s not to love about this city, or the entire country of France for that matter, at least through a foodie’s perspective? The French practically invented cooking! Everything from culinary technique, to the world’s first cooking school, to some of the world’s tastiest treats we still see and eat today. I swear, I could wake up to a freshly baked croissant every morning for the rest of my life and be happy. While we’ve been recently surrounded by modern techniques and new world cuisines, it’s nice to see and learn about chefs that are looking back to the roots of cooking and baking that originated in France. One such chef being, the very talented and very promising, Taryn Garcia of Cours La Reine Bakery in Brooklyn, New York.
62 Restaurant & Winebar is launching a 3-month-long, 3-Course Prefix menu for $28. Starting September 1st travel Europe in the dishes of Chef/Owner Antonio Bettencourt inspiration without leaving Salem, Massachusetts.
Each month will highlight a different European country with a focus on each of the regions in each country selected. In September travel to Spain and the regions of Barcelona, Madrid, Basque and Sevilla. Our next stop in October is Italy. Fall in amore with the cities of Venice, Lombardy – Milan, Tuscany and Piedmont. In November it is off to France and the places of Bordeaux, Alsace, lle-de-France (Paris) and Burgundy.
Lindsay Lohan...you did NOT lose your passport in France. Well, maybe you did on some drunken night in Cannes. I don't know what else to say except, that when you get back you are going to be a sober sister for sure. A Beverly Hills judge has issued a bench warrant for Lohan's arrest when she returns to the United States from France on Friday. The judge will allow her to surrender herself and submit to weekly drug testing and the wearing of a alcohol sensing ankle monitor. She will also be forced to pay $100,000 in fines.
Plein Sud
at the Smyth Hotel
85 West Broadway
New York, NY 10007
(212) 204-5555
Sophisticated culinary selections saddles up next to rustic décor in this new Soho French brasserie, Plein Sud (or "full south"), kick-started by nightlife mogul and restaurateur, Frederick Lesort. Cooking up authentic dishes from the south of France - an arguably under-represented region in New York dining - is former BLT Market chef, Ed Cotton. These two, combined, have birthed a casual, yet elegant culinary experience that moves Marseille to Manhattan.
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